Bloom Later
by saturnsanxiety
Summary: Amy Rose is finally taking action in becoming her own person. She's determined to overcome her unrequited feelings for Sonic and find happiness in something else. However, that's much easier said than done.
1. Leaving You

I've always made rash decisions, its become my specialty at this point, but those decisions have never really screwed me over…until now of course. Having a crush on someone for years is torturous enough, but being close friends with them? Two thousand times worse.

I was making the first decent decision of my life after graduation, moving out. I passed up my dream college to stay in Station Square with my friends, and Sonic. I was living with him and our friend Knuckles for a while, but it was driving me crazy, after a long talk with my friend Rouge we decided to find me an apartment and try to start a journey of self-discovery.

Three weeks later, and I'm unpacking cheap furniture and drinking off brand soda with a few of my friends.

"I think all we have left is the living room," Shadow wiped his forehead before sighing, "Then this hell will be over."

Knuckles laughed slightly as he and Tails entered the apartment with the couch, "You say that as if you've been doing anything! Amy's done more than you and all she's done is straighten things!"

"Hey! I take extreme offense to that! I don't have the upper body strength of a robot, like you guys!" I flashed a playful smile at Knuckles before continuing to fill the fridge.

Four hours passed, and everything was finally finished. The three guys were collapsed on the couch and floor asleep, while Rouge, Cream and I sat on my balcony.

"So Sonic really didn't show up? I told you he was worthless Amy, and you know how often I'm right." Rouge waved her finger at me a smirk across her face.

"Rouge c'mon, he could've just been busy." Cream sipped at her coffee, "Besides, the guys got the work done just fine without him. Amy moved out so that she could get away from the Sonic nonsense."

I laughed slightly and sunk more into the wire couch, "It doesn't matter anyways. I can't keep letting my life revolve around him."

"If I remember, you said that senior year, right before you turned down Sunset Heights University to go to Station Square Community College just because he was feeling insecure about being the only one of us that was going to a community college."

"I would've done that for any of you, and you know that."

"Pffft, you're a better friend than I am. I would've said bye bye and started working on my tan."

Cream started saying something but was interrupted by a loud knocking on my front door.

Shadow was the one who opened it, his voice groggy and annoyed from the rude awakening he just suffered. Sonic rushed past him and looked around before sighing.

"Yeah Blue, you're a tad late." Rouge teased him as she walked back inside, "Don't worry though, Amy is in a forgiving mood."

"Oh good," He popped outside and frowned at me, "I really am sorry Ames, I just got caught up in some stuff."

"No, yeah, um don't worry about it. We got stuff taken care of." I motioned around, trying to collect myself. I've always had problems forming coherent sentences around people I like, but Sonic made me speak broken English.

"It looks nice, I feel like a proud parent right now. You're out on your own, a real adult now." He smiled at me, crossing his arms and looking around.

My flustered mind could only force an embarrassed smile and raise my glass towards him slightly before chugging the rest of my water. At least when I was living with him I was able to brace myself for conversation. Being alone has completely destroyed that security blanket.

 **A/N:** _wow okay! I haven't written anything in a long while especially a sonic fanfic so excuse my messiness. I've actually missed these characters. I've tweaked them a little to fit more into the story, but I'm trying my best to keep them in character. Favorite and follow if you'd like! I'd really appreciate it because I tend to lose motivation lol. Umm criticisms are greatly appreciated! So let me know your thoughts! Alright I'll see you in the next chapter!_


	2. Even When It Rains

It was strange to me that despite how much time I'd spent with Sonic that he still cast such a strong spell over me. No matter the situation I would find myself struggling to find words before finally coming to my senses.

"How's work?" His voice was harsh, we'd argued about me taking a position in Vanilla's bakery.

"It's good. I really don't know why you were so against it. Cream and Vanilla are practically family to the _both_ of us."

"It just puts you far away. I know that you can protect yourself, but what if something happened and you needed me?" He grabbed my arm softly and my heart stopped.

"You'd be there. Sonic, I can't be your partner in heroic actions forever."

"Heroic actions? You think I'm a hero?" A smirk dressed his face as he teased me, "I can see you why you'd think that. My dashing good looks, my charismatic personality."

"Oh, shut up for once."

We laughed, and I felt something in the air. Static or something of that nature, it wasn't very strong, but it was there. I remembered a story Vanilla had told me after a bad night I'd had.

 _When I met Cream's father, I knew right away he was the one for me. It was like the entire world was screaming at me. The way we clicked, how easily we got along, everything about it. There were even sparks in the air. Amy, when you feel that, then you'll know you've found the one._

I looked at Sonic again and smiled. Vanilla was right, I'd felt sparks.

Weeks had passed since that night, and while I was certain that something had happened between the two of us Sonic remained silent. We weren't talking any more or any less, and our conversations were simple. I was more than disappointed, but I couldn't have been too surprised. Sonic was known for running, and between all our friends, he was most known for running away from his feelings.

"Amy, it's about to storm are you sure you don't want me to stay here with you?" Cream was hanging up her apron, "I feel bad leaving you here to close up on your own."

I turned the open sign to closed and shook my head, "You need to go now C, your mom's sick and the roads will get bad."

"Are you sure?" She hugged me from behind, "She'll understand."

"Yes! I am sure. If worst comes to worst, I'll just camp out here until it clears up. The news is on, so I know what's going on, and we have a backup generator."

"Fine. Okay. I'm going!" She gave me a half smile, "Thank you."

I winked and waved her off, "Be careful!"

The sound of stale pastries being scraped off a pan haunted my dreams, and now with the background noise of a tired news anchor and historic storm, it really would be the soundtrack of my nightmares. I ran the hot water and stuck the pan under it, going back to the front of the store to get the rest of the old pastries.

I froze in shock when I saw the man knocking on the door, pleading to be let in. He looked familiar, almost identical to Sonic, but he was obviously different. He was drenched from the storm and from the clothes he was wearing he could either be wanting to rob me or just a really badass guy caught in a storm.

Every bone in my body wanted me to stop walking to the door, a life of regretting my decisions was working against this. I made eye contact with him through the glass and my breath hitched. Something inside me was fighting against every instinct telling me to walk away. Of course, I didn't. I opened the door and changed my own life forever.

 **A/N:** _Sorry this is so short! (is it short? I don't know honestly) but I plan on updating again tonight but I thought this was best left as a cliff hanger of sorts. Who is it? How is her life changed? Blah blah blah. Anyways, thanks for reading of course! What do you guys think so far? What ships would you wanna see or what do you think should be end game so far? Make sure to leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to know what you guys think is gonna happen. Alright thank you so much for reading! -B_


	3. Even When It's Rainy All You Do Is Shine

I motioned for him to come in quickly, peering outside as he did, the roads were nearly flooded, the wind unusually strong, and the rain was merciless. We stared at each other, not saying anything at all. The roaring of the storm became louder as the news anchor cut to commercial.

"Thanks for letting me in, I can't imagine I looked too appealing." He flashed a short smile as he rubbed his arms.

"Oh! No need to thank me, um, just, um stay still real quick. I'll grab you a towel. Are you cold? Are you hungry? I think there's a few stale cinnamon rolls left." I wanted to slap myself as I walked towards the back.

I had the tendency to ask constant, annoying, questions when I got nervous. Why was I nervous though? I could easily fight him off if he did try anything malicious, but I somehow knew this was just an awful coincidence.

I could hear him laughing as I shuffled the clean laundry, grabbing the biggest towel I could find. I was making a fool of myself. Of course, I was.

"Thank you but I'll pass on a _stale_ cinnamon roll. I wouldn't mind the heat though."

I flicked the thermostat up a few degrees and went to give him the towel. I froze when I got back to the front, he had taken his jacket off and on my life, I could've melted. His arms looked so strong, and I was starting to stare.

I reached my arm out, looking at the ground in embarrassment, "Um, here's a towel."

He took it from me cautiously, "Thanks. You okay?"

"Uhm, uh, um. Yes," I looked at him with a smile, "I just didn't picture myself in this situation."

"Situation, huh?" He smirked slightly as he attempted to dry himself, "What exactly is this situation?"

I don't know why, but for some reason I relaxed, matching his smirk and crossing my arms, "Getting trapped with a complete stranger, that could be a situation."

He sat at a table a few feet away from me, "I suppose you could be right."

I turned my attention to the conditions outside, "It's bad?"

"Yeah, trust me, I'm not one to ask for help very often."

"Roads flooded?"

"Almost, I wouldn't recommend driving."

"What has you out in it," I look at him again, "Sorry if that's intrusive."

He shook his head, "Nah, it's reasonable. I had some business to deal with and I just got caught."

"What kind of business? You in a gang or something like that?"

"No, not anything like that. I crack skulls when necessary, but this was just some normal business. I was helping my boss unload some supplies. I work at the record store three streets down."

"Well as long as I'm not gonna start trouble." My tone was sarcastic, really what trouble could he get me in?

He smirked, "Nah you should be fine."

I turned around sharply, remembering not only the still running hot water, but the stale pastries calling my name, "You're welcome to stay, but I've got work to do."

We exchanged a nod I went back to cleaning up the kitchen and ruining my ears with the evil scraping, he turned his attention to his phone and the tv.

About ten minutes later I was finally finished. I hung my apron on the rack and walked back to the front, almost shocked he was still here.

"The lady said it'll stop in an hour or so. I'd give the roads an hour to clear."

"That's not too bad then, it could be a lot worse." I sat beside him and stretched slightly, "So, what's your name?"

"Scourge, and yours?"

I smiled, I'd heard that name, but now I couldn't place it, "Amy. Nice to meet you."

"Trust me, Amy, the pleasure is all mine."

We started talking, small talk at first, it turned out that we went to the same high school, we had French class together and that's where I'd recognized his name from. After a while though, we started talking about more things. I'd talked to my close friends before, about our personal lives, our fears, our secrets, but I'd never had such an intense conversation before.

He was trying to get a better job, but the record store was all he could get. Back in high school he didn't travel with the best crowd, and I knew exactly what he meant. Sonic and Knuckles had a few confrontations with his group, over stupid things. Smoking on school grounds, disrespecting teachers, petty things that no one really cared about. It always seemed like Sonic had some sort of vendetta against him, but anytime one of us confronted him about it, he'd say he just didn't want our school to go downhill.

We were staring at each other, eventually making eye contact as I started to pour my heart out. It wasn't normal for me, just telling a stranger everything, but after all we'd talked about, it didn't feel like we were strangers. I started explaining how I tended to make awful decisions, what my biggest insecurities were, and something I'd been too afraid to tell even Rouge.

"I'm scared. It's stupid, but I am. I'm scared that I'm clinging to these feelings for my friends because it's all I know. Change has always scared me, I know deep down that I didn't turn down my dream school to be closer to him. I didn't live with him because of it. I did all of it because for as long as I've known him I've had a crush, but I know it's just a crush. Anytime I think there might be something more he subconsciously reminds me that there isn't. At this point…It's just become a part of my identity. If I suddenly tell my friends that my feelings are fading, then what am I? Some gi-"

My breath hitched, and my heart ran when I felt his hand squeeze mine, I'd been looking away from him because of just how much I was saying. I'd never even said this aloud, let alone to someone. I met eyes with him, his face a mix of anger and worry.

"Amy, no. You are so much more than your feelings for someone. Do not reduce yourself to that. Especially if you think those feelings are dissipating." The way he stressed his words, his hand's grip on mine tightening.

I smiled. That was all I could do. I didn't have any words. I didn't expect him to smile back, and I felt his grip loosen. I don't know why but I put my other hand on top of his. My heart was about to explode out of my chest, I couldn't read what was going through his mind, but for some reason, I was hoping he was feeling the same way.

After a few more seconds of intense eye contact and heavy breathing on my end, we realized just how long we'd been talking.

I cleared my throat as we both stood up, "The roads look clear."

"I can see that." I could practically hear him smirk, "Thank you again for letting me ride it out here…and for everything else."

"It really isn't a problem. I should be thanking you for listening to me groan on and on."

He rolled his eyes as he put his jacket back on, "Pinky, come on."

" _Pinky_?" I fake gasped, "You've already come up with a pet name for me? I must say, I am flattered."

"Don't make me regret it." He raised his phone slightly, "Numbers?"

"Oh yeah, here." We exchanged phones briefly adding each other to our contacts.

"Well. I'll see you around. Maybe I'll even try a fresh cinnamon roll one day." He opened the door walking out and disappearing past a corner.

I paused and held my face in my hands, laughing slightly. I was feeling butterflies. They were stronger than ever, and I was scared of what that meant.

 **A/N:** _My longest chapter yet, I'm proud. Do you like longer chapters like this or should I stick with shorter ones? What do you think of my take on the infamous bad boy™ Scourge? I've always been a sucker for him, and honestly never been a huge fan of how asshole-ish people make him out to be. I've always taken him as an intellectual who likes to hide behind this mask of toughness, a shell of sorts. Kind of like how our Amy is. What do you think? Do you like them as a pair? Let me know in the comments! Please, really, I love comments and especially opinions. I'll see you soon hopefully, who knows? Maybe I'll even write the next chapter right after this! (I won't I've gotta work on mastering sombra sorry)_

 _All right, I'll see you next time. -B_


	4. Just a missed communication

_I felt his arms tighten around me, we hadn't seen each other since Summer break, and I'm not sure why, but seeing him again made everything feel better. Every worry and trouble I had just washed away when I heard his voice._

" _Ames, I've missed you so much." I hugged him tighter, never wanting to let this go._

" _I've missed you too, I'm so happy to see you."_

 _We separated but he held me at arm's reach, studying every bit of my face. I was surprised my heart didn't fall completely out of my chest. This was the moment I truly realized that I loved him. I loved the way he made me feel. I loved everything about him._

I took a deep breath, shaking my head from the memory that would creep on me. I glanced at Sonic as he sat across from me, drinking water as he looked at me. We just took in each other's presence. The chances of us being alone were slim to none, and when we were alone I was normally such a blubbering mess it was too uncomfortable. Now though, now I was calm, and I wasn't worrying myself with anything.

"Do you plan on coming with us to Rouge's club on Saturday?" He had broken the silence with a question that had an obvious answer. I could tell what he was doing, the past two weeks I'd been acting strange and he wanted to see if it was still happening. The answer, of course, was yes.

"Yeah, obviously. She's my best friend." I took a sip of coffee, and tried to steady my breathing, now I was anxious.

He smiled and looked at a wall, "Do you remember the last time we were at a club?"

Yes. "Not really, do you?" I really shouldn't continue my new habit of lying to him.

"Bits and pieces." He looked over at me with a huge grin, "It was just after Spring break. We went over to Sunset Heights because someone told us they weren't checking IDs at a really sketchy club downtown."

I smiled, "That was our first time drinking right?"

"It was yours. I'm a seasoned pro Ames, you know that." 

"Hey! It was a rough night okay? I threw up in your car."

"Oh, that's right you did! I forgot about that."

"I was stupid and thought it-" I cut myself off, "I was stupid back then."

"Your grades say otherwise."

"Shut up, you know what I meant."

"Yeah, you were pretty naïve back then to be honest."

I nodded and took a large drink, trying to think of something, anything else. I saw him stand up and stretch out of the corner of my eye, "You leaving?"

"Yeah. It was nice chatting, but I got places to be."

"Oh um, okay. I'll see you Friday then."

Without another word he was gone. Something was coming between us, I could feel it. I just couldn't tell what it was.

 **A/N:** _This chapter is super short and I'm really sorry about that. I just couldn't get a good feel for it this time around. I know the next chapter is going to be 50x better than this one though, so if you're a new reader and hated this chapter-come back tomorrow and you probably won't hate it. Check my profile for updates! I have a new schedule posted on there! -B_


	5. But you give me so much hope

I don't know what came over me, it might've been the three glasses of wine, or just how comfortable I felt with Scourge, but after whatever type of conversation I had with Sonic I knew I needed to actually talk to someone, and to just…have fun. I called him faster than I should have, and I was asking him to come over within seconds.

Around fifteen minutes later I heard a knock on my door, "One second please!" I made my way out of the kitchen and opened the door, unintentionally staring at him, "Hey Scourge, thanks for coming."

He smiled slightly, stepping inside, "No problem, anything for a friend." He scanned over my apartment, studying it before sitting on the couch, "Is everything okay? You seemed kind of nervous on the phone."

I sat next to him grabbing my glass and taking a sip, "Yeah everything's fine, I just got kind of lonely."

He smirked, "Well I'm glad I'm the one you turn to when you get lonely. Do you plan on offering your guest a drink?"

"Oh, shit, can I get you anything?" I felt my face get warm, he'd been in my apartment for less than ten minutes and I was already an awful host.

He nodded to the bottle of wine on the coffee table, "You don't mind, do you?"

I watched as he grabbed it, "Do you want a glass?"

"Nah, I don't have anything, and I really don't think you have something." He winked and started drinking.

After an ungodly number of hours and two wine bottles later we were laying together on my couch, laughing our problems away. I could feel his heartbeat when I laid on top of him and his hot breath against my hair anytime he laughed.

"No, Pinky, you really don't understand how much of an asshole this dude is, like, I can be an asshole, but he makes me look like a fuckin' saint."

I laughed slightly, "What has he done to you for you to hate him so much?"

He sighed, rubbing my back, "I don't _hate_ him per say, I just really wish he didn't exist. He doesn't do any work, he always has some bullshit comment, and he acts like he's the toughest dude on the block. If I didn't need this job I'd beat the hell out of him just to prove a point."

I propped myself up on his chest, so I could see his face, "I'm not encouraging violence, but if he thinks he's so tough maybe he needs a reality check."

Scourge beamed, sitting up, "You could probably beat him up Amy, he's pathetic."

"For your information sir, I am very tough, I took a lot of self defense classes in high school." I stood up and smiled at him, "I could probably beat you up actually."

He looked at me with a smirk, "Is that so?"

"Oh totally, I'm a real fighter."

I watched him stand up, "I want you to hit me as hard as you can." He slapped his chest, "Right here."

I didn't even respond I just punched as hard as I could, expecting him to scream in pain. Instead, he started laughing, "How did that not hurt you?"

"I didn't even feel that! Maybe those classes didn't teach you anything."

I huffed slightly and looked at him, a smile crawled on my face, "You could teach me."

"I could."

"You should."

"Are you being serious? Because, if you are, I will."

I nodded, brushing hair out of my face, "Yes. You should teach me how to fight."

"All right, we can figure a schedule out tomorrow. You work tomorrow right?" I nodded, "Great. I'll come in on my lunch break and we can talk then."

"Okay, deal."

We stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, and for a second, I felt warm inside.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back from a very long hiatus and I'm hoping I'll be able to upload more frequently, but life is a little hectic right now! I saw this story got new followers and I felt really encouraged to write some more. Please! Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts! Hate it? Tell me! Got a ship you're dying for? Let me know what it is! Until next time!-B**


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